Rachel Miller

My own career has been shaped by making unconventional pivots and deliberately creating opportunities rather than waiting for a standard path to appear. I started college studying biology with plans to become a veterinarian, switched into computer science, and went on to spend five years in product at Reddit, ultimately leading complex product work for Reddit Search. Outside my core role, I repeatedly built initiatives from scratch. I created mentorship programs, including a high-school mentorship program at Reddit, volunteered as a product leader with Taimaka, and helped secure more than $250K in funding and resources for intrapreneurial and tech-for-good initiatives. I learned how to identify an opportunity, build internal support, win over stakeholders, and turn an idea without an obvious owner into something that actually happened. I’ve applied the same approach to my own career and personal brand. After my first UK Global Talent application was unsuccessful, I deliberately strengthened my external profile through writing, speaking, and building a public body of work. In a matter of months, I grew my LinkedIn audience by 2,000+ followers, was selected to speak at international technology conferences, spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt and won an Audience Choice award. That external credibility became part of the evidence I used when I successfully reapplied for the UK Global Talent Visa. I’m especially useful for ambitious people navigating a career pivot, trying to grow beyond the boundaries of their formal job, building a professional reputation, developing influence without authority, or figuring out how to create opportunities rather than waiting for them. My approach is less about following a standard career playbook and more about identifying what evidence, relationships, skills, and actions will materially expand your options.